<html> <body> David, At 12:46 AM 6/29/05, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">In a message dated 6/28/05 3:58:17 PM Pacific Daylight Time, dporritt@mail.smu.edu writes: <dl> <dd>A lady called me and asked about the relative merits of Falconi and Pearl River pianos in the same price range.  I’ve not worked on either of these pianos.  Does anyone have any input on this? <dd> Thanks! </dl>David,   My experience with Pearl Rivers has been overall on the positive side, given the prices they sell for.  Some of them are among the most stable pianos I tune.    I've also run into some that have regulation problems because the moisture content in the balance rail is unstable.    I can't offer any Falcone (sp.?) input.   Dave Stahl</blockquote> I agree with Dave, although I don't "think" I've had any moisture content in the Pearl Rivers. I don't usually have a chance to follow up on any thought, because I normally only do prep work on them in the store. Like most pianos, they always need some prep work: bedding, reg., hammer fitting, some voicing, etc. However in my experience, they always need much less than the Falcone. Much! I just went to the newly redesigned web site of PTG and in the manufacturers list, it says the Falcone is no longer being made and the name belongs to Mason & Hamlin. If correct, I wasn't aware of this. Anyway, I'd go with the Pearl River any day of the week! You can also get them with Piano Disc installed in them. Also, the tech rep. is Mark Wisner and he's been extremely helpful with any problems I've had (which have been few and not serious). JMO. Avery </body> </html>